Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Pilot Episode Review

It’s a world of heroes hiding in the shadows; and a world of secret agents wanting to know more about these heroes. In the aftermath of a world that was invaded by aliens, and being defended by super-beings it is a new world that people will have to endure and try to understand.

Agent Phil Coulson is alive! Coulson’s excuse for returning to the living from the dead is that it was all a ruse. Coulson’s death was staged to motivate The Avengers to assemble and focus on Loki. Also, the character of Maria Hillplayed by Cobie Smuldersis back to guide these agents of the now not so secret organization. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mission is to find people with special abilities, and to help them deal with their powers while at the same time trying to contain the public from any threat these Super Beings may intentionally or unintentionally afflict on society.

The main subject of the pilot episode is a mysterious hooded man who many have witnessed saving a woman from near the top of a burning building. He jumped from the window with her in his arms, and landed on his feet while cracking the pavement underneath him. His incredible feat brought to the attention of a woman known as Skye, a blogger/ hacker whose mission it is to expose the secrets of secret organizations. She wants to be a part of whatever this new super being may have to offer; she also knows that agents may be investigating as well which may lead her to the information she is seeking.

The hooded man, Michael Peterson is struggling with his new powers; it is later revealed that it is from an experiment known as Centipede. Mike Peterson begins to embrace his new super-powers, and persona. He wants to be a hero but it is becoming clear that the experiment that gave him his powers is unstable- mentally and physically.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is pure Marvel. It is full of advanced gadgets that help the agents analyze any situation and help them with various tasks on their missions. Also, as any comic book lover is familiar with- it has stories involving secret experiments that turn ordinary people into something much more than themselves. It looks like the series will embrace those elements; we may see more new and perhaps old comic book favorites in the show. Also, I get the sense that the project Centipede may be a theme they revisit again in future episodes.

For fans of Marvel Comics, this story revisits two of the most frequent themes of the previous Marvel movies in Phase 1. The story involves the further development of the Super Soldier experiments and Extremis. As with Extremis the hooded man is in danger of burning up and exploding if he gets too emotional. It’s up to the agents to track him down and stop him before he explodes within a public place. The most important topic to focus on in this story is that when it concerns people with special abilities is to determine what path a person may take when they develop their new powers- will they become a hero, will they become a villain, or something in between.

The best part of the pilot so far has to be the character of Agent Coulson played by Clark Gregg. Coulson is in control, funny, and the most interesting character in this series. Another stand out character was Skye (Chloe Bennet), she is smart sexy, and brings a needed energy to the show. The character of Skye is the outsider that becomes an insider; the comic book/ science fiction fan can relate to her excitement in all the weird and interesting things that are happening.

The other characters may need more development in grabbing the viewers’ attention, they seemed a little generic. In the Avengers each character was larger than life with individual personalities that drew the viewer in, and made the viewer care about each of them. But it is the first show, and I am sure there will be more opportunities for the characters to develop within future story-lines.

There was a lot of action in this first episode of the series. Although, some moments at the end of the episode puzzled me. I couldn’t figure out why one of the agents beat up a police officer after he shot the hooded man when he was out of control. The police officer was only trying to help stop what seems to be a madman endangering the public. Furthermore, after Coulson calms Michael Peterson down by listening to his concerns they shot him in the head, and then they all smiled at one another. Granted Peterson’s powers allowed him to heal from the bullet to the head but how can anyone positively know he would recover.

Besides the ending being a little weird; it looks like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be an exciting series that blends science fiction and action with some funny moments within. Developed for television by geek culture favorite Josh Whedon (The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) should bring some interesting elements to the series. The stories they will bring should bring joy to any comic book enthusiast looking for more live action super hero action.